Source · Select Committees · National Security Strategy (Joint Committee)
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted in Part
The Government should ensure it has a full and robust assessment of the national security...
Recommendation
The Government should ensure it has a full and robust assessment of the national security risks of reducing the Official Development Assistance budget, resisting further cuts that could have a damaging effect for UK strategic interests. We note the International Development Committee is further examining the future of UK aid and hope the Government will engage with that inquiry constructively. The Government should ensure stable and predictable funding for bodies such as the BBC World Service and British Council, and draw on the advice of experts represented on the Soft Power Council. The next iteration of the National Risk Register should account for the possible impacts of reducing UK and allied soft power. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33) Oversight and implementation
Government Response Summary
The government defends ODA budget reductions but commits to engaging constructively with the International Development Committee's inquiry. They agree on the importance of stable funding for key soft power institutions, will continue to draw on the Soft Power Council's advice, and will ensure soft power is considered in national risk assessments.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
The Government agrees that soft power is a vital source of UK influence and security, particularly in regions facing growing instability and strategic competition. That is why the Government has established the UK Soft Power Council, made up of leaders from the UK’s soft power and international policy sectors. The UK’s bilateral relationships with key partners are broader than simply how much aid we spend, which is why the UK is transforming our country’s development partnerships, reflecting the changing needs of our partners as part of our development reset. Official Development Assistance remains an important part of our broad soft power toolkit, alongside diplomacy, defence and trade. That is why, even while taking difficult decisions to reduce the aid budget in order to increase defence spending in a more dangerous world, we are protecting the effectiveness of our development offer and modernising how we deliver it. Our ODA is increasingly focused on fragile and conflict-affected states, where instability can be exploited by malign actors and where development, humanitarian action and security are most closely linked. We are also backing institutions that project UK values and reach at scale. In that context, the Government’s increased grant funding for the BBC World Service and the British Council demonstrates our firm commitment to trusted media, cultural, and educational links. The Government recognises the importance of understanding the national security implications of changes to the Official Development Assistance budget. Decisions to reduce ODA were taken in the context of the most serious security pressures in a generation, but they were not taken lightly. That is why we have changed our approach to focus ODA more sharply on fragile and conflict-affected contexts and on interventions that support long-term stability, resilience and conflict prevention. We welcome scrutiny of the UK’s development approach and are engaging constructively with the International Development Committee’s inquiry. Transparency, predictability and value for money are central to the new three-year ODA settlements, which provide greater funding certainty than in recent years. The Government also agrees on the importance of stable grant funding for key soft power institutions, while noting that government grants are not the primary source of funds for either the BBC World Service or the British Council. The Government is continuing to draw on the advice and expertise of the UK Soft Power Council. As part of a whole-of-government approach to risk, we shall continue to ensure that assessments of national resilience and international risk take account of the role of UK soft power.